"Person or Persons Unknown" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)

The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...

.

Synopsis

David Gurney wakes up to find that nobody knows him, and all evidence of his identity had disappeared. He is placed in an insane asylum; however, he manages to escape, after a doctor named Koslenko tries to tell him that David Gurney doesn't exist, yet Gurney thinks that someone or something wants to block him out. He finds a photograph

Photograph

A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...

 of himself and his wife together. However, when the police arrive with a psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...

, the picture has somehow changed and portrays Gurney alone. He throws himself to the ground and wakes up in his bed. The whole adventure was a bad dream. His wife gets up from the bed and talks to him from the bathroom, where she removes cream from her face. When she emerges, Gurney is horrified to discover that, even though she acts and talks the same way, his wife does not look at all like the wife he knows.

Legacy

Reference is made to this story in the Seinfeld

Seinfeld

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...

episode "The Van Buren Boys

The Van Buren Boys

"The Van Buren Boys" is the 148th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, and name of a fictional New York street gang. Their sign is crossing the hands, with one hand with all the fingers 'up' and spread out. The other hand has all but the thumb and pointer finger up, for a total of eight...

" when Jerry says "This is like that Twilight Zone

Twilight zone

-Television series and spinoffs:*The Twilight Zone, the anthology television series and its franchise:**The Twilight Zone , the 1959–1964 original television series***Twilight Zone: The Movie, a 1983 film based on the original series...

where the guy wakes up, and he's the same - but everyone else is different!"

This episode may also be the inspiration for Season 4 of FRINGE

Fringe

Fringe may refer to* Fringe , that part of the hair overhanging the forehead, also known as bangs in American English* Fringe , an ornamental appendage to the border of an item* Fringe , a U.S...

 where Peter Bishop

Peter Bishop

Peter Bishop is a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe. He is portrayed by Joshua Jackson.-Fictional character biography:...

 has returned after disappearing in the Season 3 finale but no one remembers him.

See also

• The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
  The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
  The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
  
  
• Episode List
• Nowhere Man (TV series)
  Nowhere Man (TV series)
  Nowhere Man is an American television series that aired from 1995 to 1996 starring Bruce Greenwood. Created by Lawrence Hertzog, the series aired Monday nights on UPN. Despite critical acclaim, including TV Guides label of "The season's coolest hit," the show was cancelled after only one...
  
  —a one-season TV series with a similar premise.